Rethinking Resistance: Takeuchi Yoshimi, Pan-Asianism and the Legacy of the Chinese Revolution

Takeuchi uses Lu Xun as a lens to understand political actors such as Sun Zhongshan and Mao Zedong. While most works on Takeuchi have touched on his reading of Lu Xun, they have rarely dealt with his attempt to understand Mao Zedong in relation to pan- Asianism. Consequently, they have failed to grasp the relevance of Takeuchi’s work for Marxist theory both historically and theoretically. During transition from wartime to postwar Japan, Takeuchi constantly returns to Lu Xun and Mao Zedong to develop a vision of Asia as an alternative to a modern world dominated by abstraction and alienation. Through Lu Xun and Mao, he rethinks the relationship between intellectuals and the people in way that he believes would be a new path for Asia. In short, he envisions the people as an amorphous force that cannot be quite subsumed under capitalism and the state. With respect to Marxism, Takeuchi’s work anticipates recent postcolonial attempts to question the Eurocentric nature of Marxism, while at the same time rethinking concepts such as the people and the working class. Takeuchi’s work might seem obsolete today with the passing of Mao’s China. However, since his death in 1977, scholars have built on elements of his legacy. Towards the end of his presentation, Prof. Murthy will touch on how themes of Takeuchi’s work live on in the work of the Japanese sinologist Mizoguchi Yūzō and the Chinese critical intellectual Wang Hui.